Basement Remodeling
Sandy Oregon
Ready To Remodel?
If you are lucky to have a dry basement in your Sandy home that is unfinished, you have hit the jackpot when it comes to additional square footage. Sometimes homeowners can’t recognize their basement for anything more than a storage room. Getting creative with your basement area will help you make use of the extra square footage, and maximize your home’s value. With that said, the challenging nature of basement remodeling is why so many basement remain “unfinished”.
Although there are numerous ways to transform your basement into one of the more welcoming rooms in your home, you first need to ensure the space is actually livable. Remodeling your basement is completely different from remodeling other rooms in your home. These unique challenges must be addressed. Having a clear understanding of what all the project entails will allow you to establish much more realistic expectations.
What will be the purpose of the new space?
Once you have determined that your basement can be finished, the next step is to decide how you are going to use the extra room. There are numerous things you can use your basement for, including turning it into a family room, children’s playroom, additional bedroom, game room, home office, music or art studio, home gym or anything else that may tickle your fancy, as long as it’s practical.
The number of possibilities is almost limitless, and you can even combine two or more ideas if you have enough room. When choosing what to do with your basement, keep in mind that all your ideas will need to conform with local building codes. For example, if you choose to turn the area into a bedroom, you will need several means of egress, so you would need to install windows that are large enough to crawl through in case of a house fire.
What about all the junk that’s down there?
Generally, an unfinished basement becomes the storage area for all the junk you accumulate. This means that all this junk needs to be moved elsewhere when you renovate your basement. You may need to still commit some of the basement room for storage reasons rather than using it all for living space. However, you can also find more creative ways to create storage areas in your house. For instance, you could build shelving or small closets under the stairwell, have shelves along the walls enclosed behind small doors, or use stock cabinetry as storage chests and bench seats.
What are your flooring choices?
Considering basements are below ground level the types of flooring choices that available are rather limited. While carpeting may be your first preference for covering the floor of your basement, you do not want to have to deal with mold and mildew. Perpetually soggy carpet is irritating, but the mold it can potentially bring with it can cause medical conditions for your family as well as costly remediation expenses to eliminate it. If this is the case, you should ask us about basement waterproofing options to solve that problem. Having said that, this does not mean that carpets are not appropriate options for all basements.
It’s well known that moisture is always an concern with basements and this can impact your flooring choices. Thankfully there are sub-floors that are specifically designed for basements. These are manufactured to form a shield against any moisture that might permeate the concrete slab below. Believe it or not, all-in-one options do exist. They consist of plastic sub-floor tiles fused to a finished floor surface. Colored or stained concrete is yet another alternative that ensures you never have to worry about mold, and you can combine this with in-floor heating elements for a design and style that is both comfortable and attractive.
Sandy Basement Finishing
There are many additional considerations you need to make for your basement remodeling, including your ceiling options, window and lighting options as well as all the building codes you need to adhere to. This is where a general contractor who is aware of the many unique situations that are associated with finishing a basement can make the job much less stressful. Our expert team of remodeling professionals know all the intricacies of basement remodeling as well the building code unique to Clackamas County, Oregon.
Call (503) 342-8234 today for all your basement finishing needs for your Sandy home.
CCB# 185266